Nail Polish
by Just-Absolutely-Super
Summary: Adrien gets a glimpse of his Lady's hand and her interesting choice of nail polish after an Akuma leaves them stuck and reverted to their civilian selves.


**AN:** I wanted to write a Reveal™ and this is what I cranked out (I've got another one that's currently in the writing stage, though I'm not sure when I'll get that finished…)

Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** Miraculous Ladybug is not mine.

* * *

The Akuma this time around was a poor wallflower who wanted nothing more than to be left alone and not have their personal space be invaded. Hawk Moth decided to christen this one as the "Space Maker." In order to go about his plan, the villain decided to give _everyone_ their own person bubble to be trapped in. Thankfully, the bubbles were rooted to the ground as opposed to dragging the citizens of Paris into the sky like when Ladybug and Chat Noir fought the Bubbler.

Unfortunately, the Space Maker was a very calculating and strategic opponent, not striking his prey until both Ladybug and Chat Noir used their special powers to try and defeat him.

It was not the duo's finest moment, to say the least.

Feeling his goal of achieving personal space for everyone was more important, the Space Maker decided to leave the heroes to themselves so he could continue to imprison Paris, leaving Ladybug and Chat alone to try and think of a plan.

"My claws may be sharp, my Lady, but they're useless against this bubble," Chat grumbled, wincing as his ring gave another sharp beep. He only had about three minutes left before he changed back.

Ladybug sighed, her own Miraculous giving off a beep to indicate her inevitable transformation, "Looks like we'll have to revert back to our civilian selves and recharge our Kwami. Once that's done, you can transform back and use Cataclysm to get us out of here. Then we'll capture the Akuma, and this time we won't fail!"

"Right." Chat nodded.

An awkward pause ensued, Chat rubbing the back of his head as Ladybug shuffled from foot to foot.

"So… How do we…?" Chat trailed off. Their bubble prison wasn't very big—after all, the purpose was for only _one_ person to have his or her own personal space—however, it was spacey enough that the two wouldn't be claustrophobic.

They had to make sure that whatever they did, they didn't move very much and see the other de-transform, thus revealing their secret identities to each other.

Not that Chat minded, it's no secret how _badly_ he wants to know who is behind the red and black spotted mask, but sadly, those are the rules enforced by their Kwami so he has to respect it.

"We could just…" Ladybug started, covering her earring as it beeped again to indicate one minute left and looked at their surroundings. Lucky for them, the street the Space Maker trapped them at was deserted, meaning there would be no prying eyes that would see them. After assessing how much space the bubble had, she continued:

"Okay here's what we'll do: we'll turn our backs to each other and keep our eyes forward. _No peaking_ ," she emphasized, causing her partner to huff in slight annoyance. Like he was going to betray her trust so flippantly, no matter how bad the temptation was. Give him _some_ credit, LB.

Nodding at the plan, Chat faced forward while his Lady maneuvered until he could feel her back flush against his. Once she was settled, their Miraculous gave their last beeps and bright green and pink light flashed. In Chat's place stood Adrien, who stubbornly kept his eyes in front of him, trying his best to ignore the fact that _Ladybug's civilian self was right behind him_!

Secret identities sucked.

Figuring Plagg would take his sweet time devouring his camembert, Adrien decided he might as well get comfy and slumped down to the ground. Ladybug must've had the same thought about her Kwami because he felt her sit down with him, her back still firmly leaned against his. He heard her rummage through something (probably a purse, if he had to guess) and heard her tell her Kwami to eat up.

Silence reigned over them. Adrien wasn't sure whether to start up a conversation or not. What can you say in this situation, anyway? Rubbing the back of his head he decided to just pay attention to whatever else was going on around him: the sounds of Plagg and Ladybug's Kwami (Tikki, from what he gathered) chewing their food and having a hushed conversation of their own; his Lady's impatient huffing; her body leaning further into his, causing Adrien to lean forward a bit; a bit of green out of the corner of his vision—

Unable to help himself, Adrien averted his eyes from the front to stare at what was placed off to the side of his periphery. It was a hand. _Ladybug's hand_ to be exact. Realizing this, Adrien immediately faced forward again, not wanting to upset his love by peaking.

But it was too late, now his curiosity was piqued because _there's something green on his Lady's hand!_

Shifting his eyes back to Ladybug's costume-less hand, Adrien put his focus on what had distracted him.

There, painted on his partner's fingertips was nail polish. Black and green nail polish. Chat Noir colors— _his_ colors.

He couldn't help himself now, he swiped her hand to get a better look at her nails.

"H-Hey! Chat, what are you doing!?" his Lady reprimanded, trying to pull her hand out of his grasp. Adrien held on tightly.

"You have Chat Noir nails," he breathed out excitedly as he examined the girl's fingers more closely.

Green was the base color for all the appendages except for her ring finger, which was painted black with a green paw print on top. The other four nails had designs too, all painted black against the green background. There was a drawing of a cat's head on her thumb, her pointer having two vertical lines, black bubbles on her middle finger that Adrien realized is supposed to represent Cataclysm, and finally the outline of a bell for her pinky. Adrien could tell this wasn't the work of a professional manicurist, but that didn't make him any less impressed by the nail art before his eyes.

He felt Ladybug shift behind him, embarrassment coating her voice, "O-Oh, y-yeah. I painted them today."

"Wow," Adrien said, still awed that not only did she paint her nails with a Chat Noir theme, but she did it _herself_! His Lady was so talented!

Feeling a satisfied smirk forming, he decided to tease her a little, "My Lady, I'm flattered! You really _do_ care for this alley cat."

He chuckled at the scoff he received in reply, "Of course I care. Even _if_ you're a silly kitty with terrible puns."

"I think you mean _clawsome_ puns."

"Sure I did." He could practically see her rolling her eyes at him.

"But really, my Lady," Adrien said, wanting nothing more than to keep talking to his love, "I _am_ flattered. Most girls I've seen with their nails painted have a Ladybug theme to them. I didn't think Chat Noir would be popular enough for that." _Especially to you,_ he silently added.

"That's actually why I did it," she confessed, causing Adrien's heart to skip a beat or two, "I've seen so many people get their nails done with Ladybug in mind and not Chat Noir, that I got—I don't know—fed up with it? So I bought some nail polish and just…painted them with you in mind. What kind of partner would I be if I didn't support you? I-Is that weird?"

Adrien stared at Ladybug's hand like it was the greatest treasure in the world. She wanted to show her support of _him_. She did this beautiful nail artwork with _him_ in mind. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her hand, but refrained from doing so for fear of upsetting her. Instead he replied, "No, Ladybug, of course it's not weird. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kitty," she said warmly.

Deciding to bring back some humor to the conversation before it completely died again, Adrien said, "Maybe one day we should get together and you can paint _my_ claws. I'd _love_ to support my Lady with Ladybug nail polish."

That caused her to laugh out loud. She took her hand out of his own (much to Adrien's disappointment) and gave him a playful smack, "Sure, Chat. I can even do your toes if you want."

"Deal! Watch me, Bugaboo, my nails will be the _cat's meow_ of all of Paris with your skills!"

The two laughed, comfortable silence following. Just in time too, as Plagg and Tikki announced that they were finished eating and were ready for their chosen to transform again.

"Claws Out!" Adrien called, allowing the power of the Black Cat Miraculous to take over and transform him into Chat. Behind him he heard the distinct yell of "Spots On!" indicating Ladybug had just transformed as well. When the pink light died down, he turned to see his Lady, her hand and Chat Noir nail polish covered by her red and black supersuit along with the rest of her body.

"You ready for round two with the Akuma?" she asked him.

"With you at my side, LB, I'm _always_ ready," with that he called upon Cataclysm and busted the bubble that held them captive much longer than necessary.

Despite Chat once again at risk for transforming into his civilian self, finding the Space Maker and capturing their Akuma didn't take as much time as they thought. Aware of the enemy's powers and knowing her partner was limited on time, Ladybug performed Lucky Charm and was ready to make up a plan. As always, she pulled it off and reverted the city to normal using her healing power.

"Pound it!" the two called, bumping their fists.

Chat glanced at his ring, seeing he only had one pad left. Quickly, he gave Ladybug a kiss on the hand (the same one he held and admired while in their confinement) and bid her adieu before rushing off to hide and de-transform. Once he was Adrien again, he slumped against the wall of a building and sighed happily.

"I think you're the first Chat Noir ever in history to be this giddy over some lousy paint," Plagg bit out, rolling his eyes at his charge.

"It's not _just_ paint, Plagg," Adrien retorted, "It's nail polish. That Ladybug painted herself. With _me_ in mind."

He gave another lovesick sigh as he slumped further until he was sitting on the ground, causing Plagg to roll his eyes and grumble.

"Humans."

* * *

The next day at school, Ms. Bustier steps out of the room in order to make copies, leaving her students to their own devices.

Nino turns around in his seat to face Alya and Marinette, "Hey, ladies, would you two be up for a movie after school? I heard that new action flick is supposed to be awesome."

Adrien turned in his seat as well to catch their replies.

"Sure, I'm game." Alya said before turning to her best friend and elbowing her lightly, "Marinette is too. _Right_ , Marinette?"

Adrien turned to look at said girl. She had been looking at him with a large smile on her face. He returned the smile but couldn't stop from raising his eyebrow when her face turned a brilliant shade of red, giving off a squeak instead of confirmation on whether or not she wished to join them that afternoon.

Marinette yelped when Alya's elbow nudged her again, harder this time. She nodded her head frantically, eyes still on Adrien, "OH Y-YEAH! I'd go to movies love—I mean—I'd love to go to the movies with you. Err, that is to say, with _all_ of you, not just you specifically. Although..."

Adrien smiled patiently while Marinette continued to ramble. He did find her overdramatic way of communication kind of endearing, even though her nervous nature around him sometimes put him off. Really, what is it about him that makes her so uncomfortable? Is it his dad? Is she still sore about the gum? Is it just him in general? Though, she hasn't exactly _denied_ they were friends so maybe that's not it? Adrien wishes they were closer so he could get a better idea…

He was pulled from his thoughts when his eye caught something green on Marinette's hands as she waved them to and fro. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed her right hand, bringing it closer to his face to examine it.

Marinette choked on whatever sentence she was trying to stammer out when Adrien grabbed her hand. Her face inflamed. "Wh-Wha—? A-A-Adrien, what are you—"

"Chat Noir nails," he mumbled, completely awestruck. Just like his Lady's hands, Marinette also had her nails decorated with green and black nail polish.

But it wasn't just the colors that were similar, he noted. They were _exactly_ the same as Ladybug's. The green base on all the fingers except the ring finger, which was black with the green paw print; along with the black cat head on the thumb, the vertical lines on the pointer, the Cataclysm bubbles on the middle finger, and the outline of the bell on her pinky… Everything fit to what he saw on Ladybug's hand the day before!

It had to be a coincidence, right? He knows Marinette is at least _familiar_ with his Lady. Maybe they were friends as civilians and Ladybug painted Marinette's nails the same way as hers.

Though, Marinette hardly ever mentions any other friends—no one except Alya and the rest of their class. And he knows _they_ aren't his partner due to them having been Akumatized in the past. All of them but Marinette that is…

Adrien was pulled from his reverie when Marinette started talking again, "Oh! W-Well, whenever I see people with their nails done, they usually get a Ladybug theme. I don't ever see Chat Noir nail art, so I figured I'd make some of my own. I mean, it's only fair, right? Fair to Chat, that is. He saves Paris too. He should have the same amount of support Ladybug gets."

Adrien turned back to Marinette. Her face was still red, causing her big blue eyes to stand out. The hand Adrien wasn't holding hostage was absentmindedly pulling her pigtail.

Pigtails… Blue eyes… Red…

 _Red looks_ really _good on her._

And her explanation was the same as his Lady's! Marinette said she did her nails herself, just like Ladybug! It's the same designs! And the blue eyes and the pigtails and the fact she looks really nice in red—

How the _hell_ did he not notice?!

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

Adrien grinned. Oh, he was _more_ than okay!

"I'm fine, Marinette. In fact, I guess you could say I'm _feline_ great."

His smile turned into a sneaky smirk upon seeing Marinette's ( _beautiful, bluebell_ ) eyes widen a bit, "Wait, did you just—"

"So, are we going to keep our deal?"

Adrien could laugh, he could practically _see_ the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out what he was talking about.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand," she said, turning her head to the side in confusion, "What deal?"

"You know," he began, trying to quell down the laughter that was building inside him, "when I asked you if we could meet up sometime so you could paint _my claws_ with a Ladybug theme."

He couldn't help it now, Adrien let loose a snigger and allowed a smug grin to split his face. He had her where he wanted her, Marinette's jaw dropping open and her eyes becoming so wide, he was sure they'd pop out.

"Wha—What? You…"

And now, to bring it home.

Bringing Marinette's hand close to his face, Adrien dipped down and planted a firm kiss on the back of it. He winked at her.

"I still believe they'll be the _cat's meow_ with your skills."

* * *

 **AN:** And then Marinette spontaneously combusted, Adrien spent the rest of the day with a stupid, self-satisfied grin on his face, and Alya and Nino were left sitting in their seats wondering what in the fresh hell just happened?

The idea came to me when I was thinking about painting my nails. I'm the type that would _like_ to get my nails done but just…doesn't (hahaha). Anyway, so my thought process trailed to Ladybug and Chat Noir nail art, which led to the idea of Marinette painting her nails a Chat Noir theme. I'm a _HUGE_ sucker for Marinette owning and wearing Chat Noir merch. It's my favorite headcanon the fandom's given me.

Also: I suck at puns. _Tremendously_. How does Adrien do it?

Hope you guys liked it! Drop me a review and tell me what you think!


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